


Whenever this world is cruel to me (I got you to help me forgive)

by Loulouche



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Campaign 2 (Critical Role), Daemons, Drug Dealing, Drugs, F/F, Familiars, Gen, Recreational Drug Use, and Beau's is a lion, and not familiars-familiars like d&d familiars, and what kind of relationship exists between familiars and humanoids, but not daemons-daemons you know, but you will have to read to find out what they are, familiar AU, i have a familiar for each one of the m9, i will probably develop the concept of familiars further, i'll see how it evolves and update them as it goes, in the words of Transformatron:, maybe i will post a companion 'fic', modern AU without magic but with d&d races, no beta we die like Molly, no particular rating or tags for now, that will just be a bunch of explanations on what familiars are in this fic, tw are mentioned at the beginning of each chapter, yasha's familiar is a wolf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:53:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28556427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loulouche/pseuds/Loulouche
Summary: Usually, people don’t have big familiars. This is probably because there are many more small or medium animals in nature than large ones. Having a familiar that is reasonably sized is a blessing in more ways than one. Attending to its needs is simple and affordable, you can have it with you everywhere, and last but not least, it makes social interactions way easier. Sure, having a bug that is likely to end up under someone’s shoe is not the best option. But having a cute little bunny rather than a intimidating massive alligator is convenient.Yes, having an adorable small unthreatening animal as a familiar definitely makes one’s life easier.So of course, fate would be as cruel as dooming Yasha Nydoorin with a familiar as uncommon and impractical as a wolf.
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett & Yasha, Beauregard Lionett/Yasha, The Mighty Nein & Yasha
Comments: 28
Kudos: 109





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So... I've got this idea that popped in my head, and I just had the urge to write a little something. It's very short but here, have a completely unrequested Beauyasha Familiar AU. Take it as a sneak peek, or a trailer, or a prologue, I don't know. I might leave it as it is, or delete it later, or extend it if people seem to be interested in reading more. So, if you like what you read, you should definitely let me know in the comments.
> 
> The title comes from 'You're My Best Friend' by Queen.
> 
> EDIT: People seem interested, at least some of them, so this "teaser", or whatever you want to call it, will be extended into something more substantial as ideas come.

Usually, people don’t have big familiars. This is probably because there are many more small or medium animals in nature than large ones. Having a familiar that is reasonably sized is a blessing in more ways than one. Attending to its needs is simple and affordable, you can have it with you everywhere, and last but not least, it makes social interactions way easier. Sure, having a bug that is likely to end up under someone’s shoe is not the best option. But having a cute little bunny rather than an intimidating massive alligator is convenient.

Yes, having an adorable small unthreatening animal as a familiar definitely makes one’s life easier.

So of course, fate would be as cruel as dooming Yasha Nydoorin with a familiar as uncommon and impractical as a wolf.

As far as Yasha remembers, life has always been a living hell for her.

As a kid, she was taller than most children, which gave them just what they needed to make fun of her. She took it, never said anything, never rebelled against her bullies, never retaliated whether verbally or physically, even when she would probably have been able to take them out with one single blow, even at a young age.

She was holding onto the hope that things would get better when she would meet her familiar. She would finally have a friend, a being able to truly understand her and give her comfort when she needed it. Her life would necessarily become easier.

She was terribly wrong.

She turned thirteen and a few days later, she met her familiar. The first thing he communicated to her through their telepathic bond was his name: Alexis. And after that? Nothing else. For weeks. Yasha realized she should have been prepared for this. Quiet as she was, she couldn’t expect her familiar to be talkative.

After a couple months of learning to know each other - taming each other would probably be more accurate - Yasha reached that critical moment of life that often leaves quite a lot of memories in its wake, whether good or bad.

Hitting puberty with Alexis by her side was quite an experience. Try having a wolf telepathically linked to your thoughts and emotions when your whole body and psychology are dramatically changing. You will quickly realize that hiding the storm brewing inside of you while there is a screen above your head displaying your inner landscape 24/7 in 4K is easier. The fact that on top of her height she was granted - or rather cursed with - broad shoulders and an impressive stature when her body started transforming certainly didn’t help. If anything, it just gave her classmates new things to tease her about.

Life has always been a living hell for Yasha, so why would college be any different? But as stupid and naive as it may seem, for what might be the first time in her entire existence, she allows herself to hope things will indeed be different when one day, she sees a dark-skinned girl on campus. A dark-skinned girl with a huge lion walking by her side.


	2. You're such a weirdo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasha arrives on campus a few days before the year starts. She meets her roommate (or rather roommates?) and they learn to know each other. Maybe, if she is bold enough, she can allow herself to hope she will be making a friend…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so happy that a few people wanted to read more! I will try my best to write something nice and entertaining.
> 
> A few things before opening the very first real chapter of this fic:  
> \- The word “companion(s)” refers to humanoids in their relationship with their familiars.  
> \- To make things easier, telepathic dialogues between companions and their familiars will be written as follows: **_____**  
> \- The use of “who” to refer to a familiar is intentional, even if I am well aware it shouldn’t be used for an animal.  
> \- Dorms are gender-neutral, because why the hell not?
> 
> Also, I’m not a native speaker and I have no beta reader, so my English will very likely not be 10/10. I apologize in advance and I hope it will be enjoyable nevertheless.  
> \---  
> TW: mention of drug dealing.

Yasha is striding through campus at a brisk pace. She is carrying a massive duffle bag in one hand and has another one on her back, but it looks like they weigh nothing to her. A gray wolf is walking right next to her, careful to stay as close as possible and throwing looks all around. The animal is alert, which is not unusual, but is unnerving nevertheless.

**Alexis, stop. You’re making me nervous.**

**Shut down our connection if it’s so unbearable.**

**I don’t need our bond to know how you feel. I have eyes, I can see you’re edgy.**

The wolf glances at her. **And _you’re_ not, maybe?**

Yasha doesn’t reply and looks forward as she speeds up. The campus is not really crowded considering the year won’t actually start until next week. If Alexis is already jittery now, she can’t imagine how he will be when classes start and there are students everywhere.

A few minutes later, she stops in front of a building and puts her bag down on the ground. She pulls a wrinkled sheet of paper out of her pocket, unfolds it and checks the map and the picture that goes with it, then looks at the residence. She must be in the right place.

Alexis looks at the building and then at Yasha. As far as a wolf can have facial expressions, he has an interrogative one on at the moment. Yasha is still staring at the residence when she feels the telepathic bond she’s grown used to through the years activate again.

**Is that it? That’s your residence?**

**Yes.** Yasha looks at the wolf, ** _Our_ residence.*

The animal doesn’t reply, only stares at her.

She grabs her bag. **Come on.**

Yasha climbs the flight of stairs leading to the building and Alexis jogs right behind her. She pushes the door and holds it open for the wolf, then takes a look at the entrance hall. It’s quiet and there is no one within sight. If only it could stay this way the entire year. But even if this is Yasha’s first year at college, she knows very well the residence will be swarming with students in just a few days.

She takes a deep breath and starts going up the stairs, her familiar right behind her as he’s been the whole time since they arrived on campus. She checks her room number once more on the sheet of paper still in her hand, although she’s done it at least a dozen times already, and stops on the third floor.

When she gets to the right door, she tries to unlock it, but quickly realizes it is already. She goes for the knob and is about to open, but she hears a voice coming from inside.

“Whoever that is, don’t come in, unless you wanna see a purple dick!”

Yasha frowns and turns to Alexis. The wolf looks back but can’t really offer any support in that case. Not that he ever offers support.

She is about to speak, but the door flings open and reveals a tiefling with lavender skin, red eyes and extremely ostentatious horns that are pierced with little gems and little baubles. Yasha notices a peacock tattoo running up the side of his face and partially hidden by the colorful bathrobe he is tying around his waist.

He smirks. “Ha! You must be my roommate. I’m finally meeting you!”

“Hello,” Yasha says hesitantly, taken aback by his enthusiasm.

The tiefling extends his hand in front of him. “Mollymauk Tealeaf, he/him. You can call me Molly.”

Yasha glances down at his hand and awkwardly shakes it. “Hi. I’m Yasha, she/her.”

“Well, Yasha…” Molly starts as he rapidly extracts his hand from hers. “You certainly have a strong grip, don’t you?”

She is not sure what she is supposed to respond to this, but he doesn’t let her the opportunity to speak anyway.

“Come on in!”

He steps aside and gives a hand motion. Yasha enters and looks around. “Where is your-”

Before she can finish, she hears a low growl behind her and turns around. Alexis is still on the doorstep and doesn’t seem willing to enter, quite the opposite. He is laying low on his front legs, his ears are flattened backward on his head, the fur on his back is raised and his fangs are partially uncovered.

Immediately, Yasha tries to soothe him. **Easy, Al.** She knows she must stay calm if she wants to deescalate the situation.

Molly looks at the wolf and only raises his eyebrows. Usually, people are terrified when Alexis gets on the defensive like this, but he doesn’t seem even slightly scared, simply a bit surprised. “What’s the matter with your familiar?” He looks at Yasha. “I guess this is your familiar, right?”

Yasha nods. “Yes, this is Alexis, he/him.”

She puts her two bags on the floor and then stands between Molly and Alexis, facing the latter to make sure the tiefling won’t get hurt if her familiar loses his nerve. She’d rather not get her roommate killed on her very first day of college. But although Alexis is clearly worried and alarmed, contrary to what most people think when he acts like this, he is not aggressive. Not yet. Yasha has seen him in worse states than this before.

**What’s wrong, Al?**

**His familiar. Never smelled before. Strange.**

Like every familiar, Alexis is as smart as any humanoid. But also like every familiar, the telepathic bond he and Yasha share doesn’t allow them to speak per se. He can understand what Yasha or any other humanoid says when they speak verbally. However, when someone talks telepathically with their familiar, they don’t use actual words. It comes as an exchange of thoughts, ideas, emotions, feelings, that they are able to share with each other and interpret.

But every time Yasha or Alexis gets emotional, the exchange becomes messy. It makes interpretation harder for the receiver and results in something that strays from an actual constructed sentence for Yasha, the same way her own thoughts are all over the place when she’s nervous. She doesn’t know if the two of them are an exception or if everybody has issues talking to their familiar in that kind of situation. She never dared ask anybody.

Yasha looks at Molly over her shoulder. “I was about to ask before getting interrupted, but where is your familiar? First meetings are not really Alexis’ thing, he often gets nervous.”

Molly smirks and raises one eyebrow. “It doesn’t seem to be your thing either, uh?”

Yasha doesn’t answer and Molly scoffs. “Esma! Come here!”

A few seconds pass, with Alexis still growling, and then a beautiful peacock with fantastic green and blue feathers emerges from the bathroom. Yasha can’t hide her surprise and her eyes widen a bit. Alexis, however, lays even lower and his growl intensifies.

**Calm down. It’s just a peacock, nothing to be worried about.**

**Know what is. Just never met.**

Molly and his familiar don’t seem bothered by the wolf’s behavior in the slightest. “Yasha, Alexis, this is Esma, they/them. Esma, this is our new roommates.”

The tiefling suddenly chuckles and Yasha can only assume an exchange just occurred between his familiar and him. Her assumption is quickly confirmed as Molly speaks. “Esma says they’re not afraid of the big bad wolf.”

As if trying to demonstrate their point, the peacock goes around Yasha and stops right in front of Alexis, whose growl gets louder.

“I wouldn’t do th-” Yasha starts, but she’s cut off.

Esma suddenly flips their feathers up and opens them, forming an amazing wheel. Alexis’ growl instantly stops and he yelps as he briskly steps backward. Yasha is taken by surprise too and recoils a bit. But the peacock is not done and punctuates their performance with a loud call, followed by a shaking of their feathers that emits a weird whoosh sound.

“You always have to show off, don’t you?” Molly comments.

He chuckles briefly after, probably telepathically exchanging with Esma.

Alexis is slightly calmer now. He is still on guard, but his growl has completely stopped. Esma lowers their feathers and starts circling the wolf. They maneuver with elegance despite the length of their feathers, which is quite impressive. Alexis stares at them and watches their every move, but he is not showing any sign of hostility. Esma stops when they get in front of him again.

The two animals intensely stare at each other for a while, until the peacock suddenly breaks eye contact and goes back to the bathroom. Yasha is utterly confused and she can feel her familiar is sharing the very same emotion.

Molly grins. “Just so you know, appearance is very important to Esma. They spend a lot of time grooming, so if you need to use the bathroom and they’re already using it, just tell them to fuck off.”

He seems about to move on, but he stops and scoffs before calling out. “I love you too, Esma!”

Yasha is a bit unsettled by this tiefling that verbally answers his familiar. She is pretty sure the times she has done so with Alexis in the five years they’ve spent together can be counted on the fingers of one hand. She always exchanges telepathically with him. Always.

Molly resumes. “Can I give you a hand?” He steps forward and grabs one of Yasha’s bags, but as he goes to lift it from the ground, he grumbles. “Or maybe not.”

“I’ve got it, but thank you.”

She grabs both bags with no issue despite how heavy they are and puts them on the bed that is apparently not occupied yet. She doesn’t even question it, but Molly immediately speaks. “I picked a bed when I got here yesterday, but we can switch if you want to, no problem.”

Yasha gives him a strange look. “Um… No. It’s okay, I don’t care as long as I have a bed.”

“Okay, great!”

With that, the tiefling smiles at her and then goes lay on his own bed.

Yasha is more unsettled with each passing second. Molly isn’t afraid of Alexis, he looks extremely at ease in his relationship with his own familiar, more than Yasha has ever been and will probably ever be herself, he seemed genuine when he offered his help to carry her bags, and he was ready to switch beds although she hadn't even asked. She hasn’t met a lot of people like him in her life. None, actually. And she has just met him, surely that’s not the end of the story and there will be more surprises.

She opens one of her bags and starts unpacking. Alexis is still tense, she can feel it, but he finally crosses the threshold and pushes the door closed with his muzzle. He joins her and lies down next to her. As she is taking her clothes out, she feels an intense gaze weighing on her. She struggles not to look over her shoulder.

**He is staring at you.**

**I know, Al.**

**He’s creepy.**

**I think he’s nice.**

**Precisely. The nice ones are the creepiest. No one is ever nice to us.**

**Well, don’t you think it’s a nice change?**

Alexis doesn’t answer right away and a brief moment passes. **I’ll wait before answering this question.**

While Yasha keeps unpacking, her familiar sends her a clear vision of Molly. His back is resting on his pillow against the wall and he has his hands clasped at the back of his head. One of his legs is bent upward at an angle, the other is crossed over it, which caused his bathrobe to slip, revealing quite a large amount of purple skin. Yasha can’t help it this time. She reflexively peeks over her shoulder, even though Alexis is already sharing with her what he sees.

Molly probably catches the look she throws him as he smirks. “If you’re not comfortable with nudity I can make an effort, but you will have to adapt a bit too.”

“No, no, it’s all right,” she says hastily. “I- I’m not comfortable with showing my own body, but I don’t mind others doing so. Not like, I watch people or anything, just- I- I-” she stutters heavily. “Anyway. I can deal with it if you’re used to being naked, or not wearing a lot of clothes. It’s fine.”

Molly grins and his red eyes shine with amusement like two rubies. Yasha turns around and goes back to her task.

This time, she doesn’t look at the tiefling when he speaks again. “Where are you from?”

“Do you really care?”

“I do, otherwise I wouldn’t ask.”

Yasha is once again surprised by how honest he sounds, but she doesn’t stop as she answers. “Xhorhas.”

“Oh, international student. That’s exciting!”

“Um… I guess. What about you?”

“I don’t know.”

Yasha stops and fully turns around to face him. She frowns. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“This is a long story, one I don’t have time for at the moment.” He looks at the clock on his night table. “I have to go actually, like right now.”

He stands up from his bed and his bathrobe falls back into place, covering his legs. ”What do you say we meet at the dining hall tonight and I tell you all about it?”

Yasha is hesitant. She silently stares at him, but he doesn’t say anything, doesn’t even seem embarrassed to be watched like this. She clears her throat. “Okay.”

“Great!” Seven?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Amazing,” Molly hums as he walks past Yasha and Alexis.

The wolf gives him a sidelong glance and the aasimar’s eyes stay on him until he walks into the bathroom. As soon as the door is closed, companion and familiar look at each other.

**Creepy.**

Yasha tilts her head to the side. **Give him a chance at least.**

**As I said, I’ll wait.**

Yasha rolls her eyes at him and starts putting her clothes in the closet next to her bed. Alexis rests his head on his paws, seemingly relaxed, but still alert on some level.

* * *

Yasha arrives at the dining hall a little early and waits by the entrance. She awkwardly looks at people coming in and out, barely replying when some of them greet her. Luckily, no one tries to start a conversation. At seven precisely, Molly shows up.

"Hey! You're already here. Have you been waiting?"

"No, don't worry."

"Come on, big girl."

Yasha raises her eyebrows at the nickname, but Molly doesn't notice and enters.

There's not many people in the hall and they're probably all first-year students. The two roommates get their meal and Molly is about to join four people who are chatting and laughing, but Yasha stops him.

"Is it okay if we take another table, with no one else?"

"You don't wanna sit with other people?"

"Um… I'm not very comfortable with strangers."

" _I_ am a stranger."

"It's not the same. You're my roommate and, I don't know... You look… nice."

Alexis snorts. **You barely know him.**

Yasha ignores her familiar's comment.

Molly grins. "Of all the words people have used to describe me for the first time, I think I've never heard someone call me nice." He seems amused rather than flattered.

"What do people usually call you?"

"A freak. A creep. A weirdo. A lot of words, but not positive ones. At least not for them."

"Why do they call you that?"

Molly's eyes widen a bit. Yasha thinks this is the first time she sees him actually surprised. He stares at her for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

Yasha raises an eyebrow to him. "What's so funny?"

Molly wipes the tears from the corner of his eyes. "Nothing. You're right, let's sit somewhere else."

"You can sit with them if you want to, and I can eat alone. I don't mind, and I don't want to keep you from your friends."

"My friends? Oh no, I don't know those people."

Yasha frowns and throws him a strange look. She can't figure him out and it's very unsettling.

Molly smiles and gives a head motion. "Come on."

He walks to an empty table and they sit face to face. Yasha starts eating in silence, but she knows it will only be a matter of time before Molly speaks. If there is one thing she has figured out about him in the few hours she's known him, it's that he talks a lot.

Molly pours water for both of them, Yasha thanks him, he takes a sip and puts his glass down. He crosses his hands in front of him, rests his chin on top of them, and stares right at Yasha with a thin grin. "You're not very talkative, are you?"

Yasha looks up from her plate and shrugs. "I don't think I have anything interesting to say," she mumbles with her mouth full.

"I don't think it's true."

Yasha finishes chewing and swallows, then shrugs again and doesn't say anything. She looks at Molly and he looks back, still the same grin on his face.

Yasha starts feeling ill-at-ease. Whether Molly notices or not, he uncrosses his hands, takes his fork and pricks green beans to eat them. A little less awkward now that he is no longer staring at her, Yasha resumes eating.

After a short moment, she feels a tingle in her mind.

**You're not going to ask him about what he was supposed to tell you?**

**No.**

**You're not curious?**

**You know I am. But I don't want to be pushy. He doesn't owe me any explanation.**

Alexis doesn't reply. Instead, he sends her an image of Esma. The peacock is standing next to Molly, grooming his feathers.

**Why are you showing me this?**

**They're grooming again.**

**And?**

**The tiefling was right, they're very preoccupied by their appearance.**

**The tiefling has a name.**

Yasha sees Esma stop grooming and stare right at Alexis. Her familiar often shares his sight with her, but even after years, it's still a bit strange to be looked at without being the one who's actually looked at. The peacock's gaze is quite intense and she can feel Alexis is just as uneasy as her. Molly's chuckle pulls her out of her familiar's sight and she looks at him.

The tiefling smirks. "Esma thinks Alexis is jealous of their plumage."

The wolf lets out a little noise that resembles a scoff and Molly throws him an amused look.

Yasha glances at Alexis, then back at Molly. "You talk a lot to your familiar. Out loud, I mean. And you share their thoughts a lot."

"I do."

Yasha stares at him. "It doesn't bother them?"

"They never said anything about it."

She doesn't comment. This unconventional duo is getting more and more intriguing.

Molly seems to be about to say something, but he remains silent. He pricks beans, eats them, and then puts his fork down. He leans backward in his chair, takes his time to chew, and then looks at Yasha. "Well, if you're not speaking, then I will."

He takes a sip of water and leans back again. "The reason why I don’t know where I’m from is because apparently, I had a car accident three years ago."

Yasha is a bit surprised by this strange wording, but she remains silent and lets him speak.

"I woke up at the hospital. I was told my familiar had died in the accident and the psychological shock had almost killed me. I had been in a coma for a few weeks. I had absolutely no memory of what had occurred."

He takes his fork and as he keeps talking, he pushes peas in his plate absent-mindedly. "I had no ID with me, no cellphone, nothing to know who I was, and nobody came for me when I was at the hospital."

"No one?"

Molly shakes his head. "No one."

"How old were you?"

He chuckles. “I don’t now.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry. Besides, it’s not exactly true. They used a technique based on something they call bone age, to estimate how old I was.”

Yasha is in awe. “They can do that?”

“Apparently. They said I was probably between fourteen and sixteen.”

She nods with a pensive face. "You were alone in the car?"

"I was on the passenger seat and when the police got there, the driver was gone."

"And even today, you still have no memory of what happened?"

"Nope."

Yasha frowns. Molly's story is strange, but something else is even more. "I thought we had only one familiar over a lifetime."

"I thought that too, but Esma is the living proof that this is not always the case. I did some research after meeting them and apparently, as rare as this phenomenon is, it does happen sometimes. Good thing it did."

Yasha gives him an interrogative look. "What do you mean?"

"Even if I had no memory of my life and my familiar, I truly felt its absence. I felt… empty."

His gaze suddenly drifts away. "That's the only word I was able to say after waking up. Empty."

He shakes himself out of his stupor and looks at Esma. "But when I met this asshole, just like that, it completely stopped." The peacock looks back at him and he smiles.

Yasha stares at them for a moment. "When did you two meet?"

"Two years ago. I had woken up from my coma for almost a year when they found me."

"Did they have another companion before you?"

"No. They told me they had been looking for me since they were born, just like any other familiar, and they had never felt any change."

"That's strange."

"It is. But I never tried to understand."

Yasha raises her eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"

"I think it's one of the mysteries of life. I'm glad they found me when they did, I don't need to understand the specifics."

"And you never tried to know who you were before?"

"At first, I did. But I stopped when I met Esma."

Yasha nods. She doesn't understand how he was able to just let it go and be content with no past, but she doesn't want to press him with questions. There is just one thing she can't resist asking.

"I hope this is not inappropriate but… do you know what your former familiar was?"

"I was told it was a giant huntsman spider."

Yasha smiles and chuckles.

Molly throws her an intrigued look. "What?"

"Nothing. I just think it's a good thing you're not linked to a spider anymore."

"Why?"

"I eat spiders."

"You-" Molly stares at her. He looks truly puzzled. "Is this a joke?"

"Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Sorry, it was insensitive."

Yasha starts panicking. She wanted to lighten the mood, but it was a stupid thing to say. Molly is confessing something important and that he probably doesn't share with a lot of people, and she turned it into a joke. He has been nothing but nice to her so far and she has just screwed it.

She is about to apologize and leave the table, but Molly speaks before she can do any of this. "No, no, it's all right. I'm not mad."

"You're not?" She is genuinely surprised.

"No, it was fun."

"You- You think so?"

"Yeah, really."

"Usually, people don't really get my sense of humor."

"Well, looks like you finally found someone who does."

Yasha looks at him and gives him a small sheepish smile that he returns, with more ease than her though.

He takes a serious face. This might be the most serious he's been since the beginning of the dinner. "Do you actually eat spiders though?"

Yasha hesitantly shrugs. "Maybe?"

Molly stares at her and… chuckles with a wide smile. "You're such a weirdo."

Yasha freezes. She's been called this, and other things, many times before. But for the very first time in her entire life, she doesn't feel hurt. Coming from Molly, she can tell it doesn't sound like an insult. It sounds like hope.

Hope that maybe, she did finally find someone who gets her.

* * *

When Yasha comes back from her night walk with Alexis, Molly is laying on his bed. He is wearing his bathrobe and he has his headphones on and his eyes closed as his head slowly moves to the rhythm. Esma is sitting next to him on his bed, seemingly sleeping. Yasha tries to be as discreet as possible.

When she walks out of the bathroom a few minutes later and sits down on her bed, Molly calls out. "Dinner was nice!"

He almost shouted, causing Esma to wake up with a jolt. He laughs at the scare he unintentionally gave his familiar and the peacock pecks his calf in retaliation. It just makes Molly laugh more. He takes his headphones off and when Yasha hears how loud the music is, she realizes why he spoke so loud.

"We should do it again," the tiefling says.

"Yes, I'd like to do it again too. I don't mind eating alone, but it was nice and you're the only person I know here."

"You will meet other people."

"Maybe."

Molly tilts his head to the side with something that resembles a pained look, but he doesn't comment. "Would you like to go to a party at the end of the week?"

Yasha can't hide her surprise. "You arrived just yesterday on campus and you're already invited to parties?"

"Well, I'm not just any guest."

He probably notices her confused expression, because he elaborates before she can ask any question. "I'm a drug dealer," he says with the most natural and relaxed expression.

Yasha opens wide eyes and it only makes him smile.

"I was meeting with a customer when I left earlier. He told me about this party and asked me if I could be there so that the guests wouldn't have to worry about buying beforehand."

Yasha nods with a pensive expression.

"So? Will you come?"

"I don't know. I've never really been to a party before."

"Really?" Molly doesn't look mocking or even judging, just surprised. "Well, it's perfect then! This will be your rehearsal before the actual parties happen, when all the students are on campus."

“You’re a first-year like me, and yet you seem to know so much about life on campus.”

“I’ve been selling drugs to college students even before attending, so it helps,” he says nonchalantly. “What about the party?”

"I'm not sure this would be my thing. I'm not very sociable or outgoing."

Molly grins. "No, shit."

Yasha tries to hide her embarrassment, but Molly doesn't seem to notice, or he willingly ignores it to make her feel better.

He gives her a kind smile. "It probably won't be very crowded, if that’s what you’re worried about. The campus is filled mainly with first-year students for now, and maybe a few partygoers who organize that kind of sad parties where there are only said first-years."

"I really don't know."

Molly sits up. "Okay, I'll be honest. I could use some muscle. Sometimes, customers try to outsmart me, which is obviously impossible, but they're too dumb to realize. Built like you are, I think you would be perfect for the job. If someone tries anything funny, and I can't put sense into them, I think your arms should be enough to discourage them. They're amazing, by the way."

Yasha frowns and he clarifies, "Your arms."

"Oh. Thanks," she says hesitantly.

"I would also really like it if you were there because I like your company."

"You- You do?"

"Yeah. We've just met, but I think you're great and I like you."

His honesty is disarming and Yasha doesn't know what to say, but he doesn't even seem to notice her dismay.

"So?"

"Um… O- Okay."

"Great! You'll see, it will be fun!"

Yasha is not convinced, but she nods nevertheless. “I’m going to sleep now. I’ve had a long day.”

“Does the light bother you?” Molly asks as he points at the lamp above his bed.

“No, it's okay, you can leave it on. I was just- Um… Just letting you know.” She clears her throat and Molly smiles, visibly amused by her awkwardness. “Anyway. Good night, Molly.” She looks at the peacock, who hasn’t gone back to sleep. “Good night, Esma.”

“They say thank you and good night to you too.”

“Oh, also. Alexis often wakes up at night, but he’s very quiet, so he shouldn’t wake you up. Sometimes I go out with him when he needs to take a walk, but I’ll be as quiet as possible.”

“No problem.”

“Sorry in advance, if I wake one of you up.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Molly says with a smile, and it seems like he really means it.

“Okay. Um… Good night, Molly.”

“Good night, big girl.”

The nickname surprises her again, but she realizes it doesn’t bother her. Just like the way he called her a weirdo earlier didn’t come as insulting, she doesn’t feel offended by this name, although it has been thrown at her as an insult so many times before.

She gives him a coy smile that he returns more frankly, and then she switches her own lamp off and lies down. She hears Alexis sigh from the spot he claimed as his own at the foot of her bed.

**Good night, Al.**

**Be careful with him.**

**Why?**

**Are you seriously asking me why? He’s a drug dealer!**

**He’s nice.**

**He’s a nice drug dealer. Great.**

**You really are a killjoy. For once, I’m making a friend. Can’t you be happy for me?**

**I’m only warning you. I don’t want you to get hurt.**

**I can take care of myself, Alexis.** Her tone is sharp. **Now go to sleep, and don’t wake Molly or Esma up if you wander during the night.**

Her familiar doesn’t reply and she mentally sighs. **Good night.**

**Good night.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think of this first chapter? As you can tell, the relationship between Yasha and Alexis is not exactly warm and friendly… New characters will arrive in the next chapter!
> 
> Just as a side note, the name of Molly’s familiar comes from the cover name he used in Zadash. Turned out picking an animal for each of them was not that hard, but finding names was.
> 
> As always, don’t forget to love each other... and to leave kudos and comments! I’m always happy to read them and reply :)


	3. Will you be my friend?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasha and Alexis get into an argument. She goes to a party with Molly and they meet new people. Yasha allows herself to think that maybe, things will be different from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The inspiration for Molly’s outfit came from this fanart by Ensing Alister @EZombieArt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EZombieArt/status/987455788007526400?epik=dj0yJnU9RGFyMVdrUlhaTUtoWFN1RkhFRVBId3NuWWhCV1FOcTEmcD0wJm49WnFBVmI5MUxhaF80RVRPX3Mxd3lpdyZ0PUFBQUFBR0FWYWtr
> 
> Yasha’s outfit comes from a fanart by Lea @delsinsfire on Twitter. The hairstyle is different and I added a shirt. I picture it without the choker for this fic, but with or without it, your choice really. I couldn’t find the original Twitter post, sorry: https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/149041068907115322/
> 
> For the other characters’ outfits, I’ll leave it to your imagination!  
> \---  
> You know what’s fun? I’ve reached that age where I mention songs from the 2000’s in a story with characters that are around 18 and hope they would actually know these songs.  
> \---  
> Side note about pronouns: when the pronouns of a familiar are unknown, they/them is used instead of the usual it/its used for animals. Knowing familiars are as smart as humanoids and pronouns matter to them, it felt strange to use it/its. For humanoid characters who come directly from Critical Role, I took the liberty of using their known pronouns even if they haven’t been specified yet in the fic.  
> \---  
> TW: drug selling, drug buying, recreational drug use (marijuana), recreational alcohol consumption.

Yasha wakes up as nervous as she is on exam days. Except that she is not sitting any exam today. The year hasn’t even started yet actually. Her nervousness has nothing to do with facing a blank page waiting to be filled with answers all by herself, and everything to do with being around people. In fact, she is pretty sure she would prefer to sit an exam she hasn’t worked for rather than going to this party at the moment.

What exactly crossed her mind when she accepted Molly’s invitation? It’s not even an invitation, he only asked her to come with him to intimidate people who might be a little too self-confident. Why did she accept? That’s ridiculous.

**Can you tone down the anxiety, please?**

Yasha looks at her familiar laying next to her bed.

**I don’t want to go to this party.**

**What a surprise.**

**A little support would be nice.**

**What do you want me to say? I told you so?**

**That’s the opposite of support.**

Yasha swears under her breath and pushes her sheets to the side. She gets out of bed and Alexis barely avoids getting stepped on as she doesn’t pay attention to his paws.

Yasha picks clothes in her closet and goes to the bathroom. It’s empty as Esma is still sleeping, curled up against Molly, who’s asleep too. She closes the door and starts going through her morning routine, but she sighs when she hears Alexis.

**Just tell Mollymauk you changed your mind and you don’t want to go.anymore. He will understand if he is as nice as you say he is.**

**And I will lose the only person who seems to want to be friends with me.**

**Do you really want to be friends with someone who can’t understand that you’re not comfortable around people?**

**I’m tired of being alone, Alexis. Can’t you understand this?**

**You’re better alone than lonely with--**

Yasha immediately shuts down the connection and the flow is interrupted. She knows what he was about to say.

_You’re better alone than lonely with the wrong people._

She’s had enough of this sentence, which is basically Alexis’ motto and has been ever since she met him. He will say it at any given opportunity, and it’s very rarely an attempt to comfort her, rather to keep her isolated from the rest of the world. At least, this is how she experiences it.

She wants to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he is just not good at social interactions, just like her. But more often than not, his behavior comes as rude and insensitive. Besides, he is her familiar, the lack of empathy shouldn’t be an excuse.

She is brushing her teeth when she suddenly feels a mental onslaught. She resists it, but after several attempts, Alexis manages to break through.

**Did you really cut me off?**

**Get out of my head.** The message is deprived of any warmth.

**I’m only trying to help you, Yash. I’m sure Mollymauk will understand. Or more likely he will find a way to convince you to come. But you should at least tell him you’re nervous.**

**Leave me alone. I don’t want to talk to you right now.**

**You never want to talk to me.**

**Neither do you, except when you chastise me or kill my fun.**

Yasha feels hurt and hesitation on Alexis’ side and she almost feels bad, but she instantly represses this emotion, as she knows her familiar would sense it. After a short moment, she feels him withdraw and she knows she is really alone now. She sighs and finishes brushing her teeth.

When she gets out of the bathroom, Alexis is waiting by the door. With just a look, she knows he is expecting something from her. She drops the mental barrier she had put between them.

**What do you want?**

**I need to meet my basic needs too.**

**You don’t need me to do this.** Yasha ignores the surprised look he throws her and starts making her bed.

**You’re not coming?**

**No. Don’t go too far and be quiet when you’re back, Molly and Esma are still sleeping.**

Alexis stares at her. She barely has time to feel his hurt before it disappears, and with it their current exchange. He probably shut it down to keep his emotions to himself. He gives her one last look that she doesn’t return and then he goes through the flap on the door.

* * *

It's almost noon when Yasha hears a groan coming from Molly. She looks up from the book she is reading and sees him moving under the covers. Esma's head shoots up and Molly groans louder when his familiar pecks him repeatedly. The tiefling weakly tries to scare them away with a wave of his hand, but Esma persists until he reacts.

"All right, all right! I'm getting up."

The peacock takes Molly's bathrobe in their beak and drags it across the bed to put it on top of his horned head. They elegantly jump from the bed and go directly to the bathroom. Yasha keeps her eyes on them until they disappear from view. She looks back at Molly, who is putting his bathrobe on. Once he is dressed, he sits on the edge of his bed and lazily scratches his scalp.

He shoots her a look. "Morning."

"Hi, Molly. Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough. I guess you've been up since six, just like every other day this week?"

Yasha nods in place of an answer.

"I don't know how you do this."

"Habits, I guess."

Molly scratches his head some more and then stands up and stretches his arms and back. He takes a look around and then glances at Yasha. "Alexis is not here?"

"No, he's been out all morning."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You two can stay away this long?" Molly asks with a genuinely impressed expression.

"We're used to it, and he's probably not far from the dorm, I can still feel his presence."

"You usually go with him when he goes out for a walk."

His tone is not interrogative and there is nothing to question there after all, this is simply a statement and it's true, so Yasha doesn't say anything.

Molly squints his eyes at her. "Why didn't you go with him?"

"I didn't feel like going out. I wanted to read," she says, lifting her book to prove her point.

Molly squints even harder. "Did something happen?"

"No, everything's fine."

The tiefling crosses his arms on his chest and his tail briskly whips the air twice. "You're a terrible liar."

Yasha tries to maintain her poker face for a moment, but she quickly gives up and sighs. She can't lie, she knows it, and in the few days she has known Molly, she has noticed on more occasions than one that he is a good judge of character and knows how to read people. Really, she shouldn't bother trying anymore.

Molly taps his foot on the floor and this gesture, although it expresses annoyance, is also strangely elegant and delicate. "So? What happened?"

Yasha sighs deeply. "It was nothing, don't worry about it."

"Yasha."

She wishes he would let it go, but the other thing she's learned about him in the past few days is that he is stubborn. _Very_ stubborn. "We had a fight. It happens sometimes, it will be over when he's back."

"About what?"

"He wanted me to do something I didn't want to do, he insisted and I lost patience."

"Gods, Yasha! Will I have to squeeze every tiny little detail out of you? What the hell did you fight about?"

Yasha fidgets uncomfortably. "I don't want to talk about it. Just because I'm a bad liar, doesn't mean I have to tell you everything."

"Yeah, you're right. Well, keep it to yourself if you want to. All I have to say is this fight was probably stupid and you two should apologize to each other."

Yasha doesn't reply.

Molly uncrosses his arms and his stance relaxes. "In case you forgot, most of us have only one familiar. You two should cherish and nourish your relationship. Take it from someone who's lost a familiar. Even if I don’t remember what our relationship was, I know how it felt to lose it."

"Believe me, I've tried. But Alexis never tries to understand me and sympathize with what I feel."

"Do you?"

Yasha is about to reply, but she pauses. She thinks for a moment and realizes she had never reflected on this before. She can't find anything to say; she doesn't know the answer to this question.

Molly tilts his head to the side and gives her a kind smile. "A relationship between a companion and their familiar should never be one-sided."

With that, he goes to the bathroom. After what he said, Yasha is deep in thought, and she hardly processes Esma leaving the bathroom with some sort of offended clucking when Molly tells them to "fuck off".

* * *

Yasha and Molly spend the afternoon wandering the hallways to try and locate their classrooms and memorize where they are as best as they can. Their two familiars are with them, but the atmosphere is really tense. Yasha and Alexis have not spoken at all since the fight they had in the morning and Yasha’s nervousness has intensified, both because of the party getting closer and the silence between her and her familiar. In fact, she can feel a distance between Molly and her too, but she doesn’t know if it comes from the tiefling or herself.

When they go back to their dorm at the end of the afternoon, Yasha can’t stand it anymore. She slumps onto her bed with a deep sigh and speaks without looking at Molly. “I don’t want to go to this party.”

Molly has just closed the door. He turns and looks at her with his eyebrows raised. “Why?”

“For the same reasons I was hesitant the other day when you asked me to come. You had convinced me. Well, sort of. But now... I don’t know.”

Molly crosses his arms on his chest and leans against the door. He gives Yasha a long stare, until she looks back at him. “Is this why you were so distant all day? I mean, you’re never very chatty, but man! You were awfully quiet today.”

“Sorry,” Yasha apologizes, looking away. “I didn’t want to tell you, but I’ve been thinking about it all day long.”

Molly tilts his head to the side. “Do you have social anxiety?”

Yasha scoffs. “No. Just social awkwardness.”

The tiefling stares at her. His look is not judgemental, but she feels uncomfortable nevertheless. He takes a deep breath and comes sitting next to her on her bed. “Look. I would really like it if you were there. Not just to play bodyguard. You would certainly be helpful, but I’ve been okay on my own so far, so I could probably survive without you. I want you to be there because I think it would be fun. I just want you to have a good time. Now, if you’re not comfortable, you don’t have to come.”

Yasha is taken aback by such honesty and… kindness. She glances at Alexis, who’s sitting by her desk and looking at them while they’re having this conversation.

She hears Molly chuckle and turns to him. “Is this what you fought about?”

Yasha sighs and this reaction in itself is an answer. “Alexis thought I should tell you I didn't want to go, but I didn’t want to and he kept insisting so--”

“Why?”

“He wanted to prove his point and--”

“No, I mean why didn’t you want to tell me?”

Yasha hesitates. The reason seems obvious to her, but not to him apparently. “Because I didn’t want to hurt you.”

Molly frowns and gives her a strange look. He looks like he’s just heard the stupidest thing in the world. “Why would I be hurt?”

“I-I thought you would-- It looks like I don’t want to hang out with you.”

“Well, is that the case?”

“No! Absolutely not,” Yasha hastily says. “I just don’t want to hang out with… other people. But I was afraid you might take it the wrong way, or you might find me weird.”

“You _are_ weird.” Yasha gives him an unsettled look and he quickly adds, “Good weird. Look, Yasha.”

He sits closer to her and she can’t help but recoil from this sudden proximity. He must notice, because he retreats and then stands up from the bed. “Sorry.” He softens the wrinkles on his pants and then looks back at her. “I really want to go with you because I like you. You’re great.” He says this in the most natural way and it takes Yasha off guard. “If you want to come but you’re not comfortable with strangers, I can stay with you all night long. But if you don’t want to come, I don’t want you to force yourself.”

Yasha sighs deeply. She rubs her clammy palms on her black jeans and throws a look at her familiar. Alexis looks back, but he doesn’t move and doesn’t send her any telepathic signal or message. However, their connection is activated and she doesn’t feel resentment or any hard feelings on his side, just some sort of expectancy.

She looks at Molly. “Okay, I’ll come.”

The tiefling smiles widely and beams up, but she quickly adds, “But don’t leave me alone, please.”

“I’ll stay with you, I promise. You’ll see, it’ll be fun.”

“I hope so.”

“All right!” Molly is always quite lively, but he is even more enthusiastic now. “I need to pick an outfit, and I have to decide what stuff I’ll bring with me.”

Yasha slightly smiles at his endearing excitement, before getting more serious as she turns to look at Alexis. **You were right, I should have told him sooner. I’m sorry about what happened this morning.**

The reply doesn’t come right away, and she starts fearing her familiar might still be mad at her. But after a few seconds, a feeling of genuine regret gets to her. **I’m sorry too. I still think he’s a bit creepy, but… good creepy.**

Yasha feels a grin growing on her face and she can tell through the bond she shares with her familiar that he is mentally smiling back. it doesn’t happen often, but it feels good when it does.

Alexis stands up and closes the distance between them to come sit next to her. **And he does seem nice.** There is a brief pause. **I’m sorry if I gave you the impression I don’t want you to make new friends.**

**New? What other friends are you referring to?** she says with a bitter tone that is not meant for her familiar but for the people she had thought she could call friends in the past.

**That’s my point. You’ve been hurt before.**

Yasha feels hesitation on Alexis’ side, but then he gently rests his head on her lap. She is taken by surprise. None of them is ever really effusive and they very rarely cuddle or show physical affection to each other. The weight of his head feels good though. It’s comforting and their bond suddenly feels stronger.

Alexis lets out a little sigh. **I just don’t want anyone to hurt you again. I’m sorry if I don’t express it the right way.**

**It’s okay. Who am I to judge when it comes to expressing feelings properly?**

Yasha feels what is the equivalent of a mental chuckle and she smiles. She hesitantly raises one hand, but then she stops. **Is it okay if I pet you?**

She knows Alexis doesn’t like it when people ask this or even do it without asking permission, but it’s worth trying. There is a brief hesitation, but then he sends her a mental positive signal. **Can you scratch my ears?**

She grins and obliges. Alexis closes his eyes and lets out a satisfied noise that could be mistaken for a purr, if he was a feline.

In the meantime, Molly has been taking many clothes out of his closet and scattering them across his bed to try and assemble an outfit. He briskly turns to Yasha to get her opinion, but he freezes when he discovers the pair. “If this isn’t the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Yasha startles slightly and looks at him, and Alexis takes his head off her lap at the same time. The aasimar immediately blushes and she feels her familiar is just as embarrassed as her.

Molly grins, visibly amused by their two combined awkwardness. “I knew there was hope for the both of you.”

Companion and familiar remain silent and Yasha just blushes some more, which only makes Molly’s grin widen.

“Well!” he says with a clap of his hands. “I need you to help me pick something.”

* * *

Molly knocks at the door of the house and he and Yasha patiently wait. He explained on the way that the party was organized by one of the many clubs of the university, whose name he had forgotten.

Yasha looks at Molly from head to toe for the umpeenth time. She feels like an idiot, standing next to him in her bland clothing. He puts his hands on his hips with an annoyed face. “Stop. I already told you, your outfit is great.”

“I look like an idiot next to you,” Yasha mumbles.

In the short time she has known Molly, he has always been very well-dressed, even when they were in their own room with no one else around. It’s funny that he would say his familiar is very preoccupied with their appearance when clearly, it’s a priority to Molly as well. But Yasha has a feeling that he wouldn’t even deny it if she were to mention it.

Tonight, he is wearing a white leather jacket with metal spikes on both shoulders. Underneath is a black loose top with the symbol of the Illuminati and a writing at the bottom of it: _THEY’RE REAL_. His thin long legs are clad in light blue ripped jeans. He put a bit of mascara on, which emphasizes his ruby eyes and makes them even more hypnotic. He has a fanny pack with him that he is carrying across his chest instead of around his hips. Yasha saw him put all his "stuff" inside earlier.

His outfit is not very colorful in comparison to others Yasha has seen him in, and yet, it’s more colored than her own. She has never liked bright and flashy colors, and it shows. She is wearing a plain gray round-collared t-shirt with a black short-sleeved shirt left open over it. Her black cargo pants are tucked in her heavy combat boots. She has a massive belt around her waist and two chains are hanging from the loops. Her braids are falling freely on her broad shoulders.

Molly takes a good look at her. “Yup, it hasn’t changed since I told you it looked great five minutes ago. Or was it two?”

Yasha blushes and buries her hands deep in her pockets. “Sorry. I’m nervous.”

“I know, but it’s okay. Don’t worry about your looks. We’re here for business, right? Hooking up is just a bonus.”

“I’m not looking for--”

“Besides, you don’t need to dress up. Your arms and pretty face are all you need to get whoever you want.”

Yasha knows it’s meant as a compliment, but it only makes her even more self-conscious than she already is.

The aggressive rap music that was already audible from outside gets louder when the door opens. They come face to face with a boy - the term is not exaggerated, as he looks like he has barely hit puberty. He seems to recognize Molly, but he throws a strange look to Yasha.

Molly notices and explains, “She’s here to make sure no one bothers me. You know how people are when they’re drunk or high. Or both.”

The boy nods. “Okay. Yeah, cool, no problem.” He chuckles nervously.

Yasha thought she was jittery, but she might reconsider now that she sees this boy. At least, she is doing a better job at hiding it than he is. She didn’t think it was possible to be worse than her at this.

“Come in,” the boy says awkwardly as he steps to the side. He is holding a Hermann's tortoise that looks just as awkward as him.

Molly and Yasha exchange an amused look and Yasha even cracks a smile when the tiefling grins. They step inside and their host closes the door behind them. He walks them to the living room and starts explaining that this is his first year in college and he’s trying to join a club, so he wants to give a good impression. Yasha doesn’t pay much attention to what he’s saying, and she is not sure Molly is either.

She scans the room and she can feel Alexis is on alert next to her. The boy - Molly probably told her what his name was, but she forgot - is speaking, but she roughly cuts him off. “Why is the music so loud? There’s no one here.”

“Yeah, precisely.”

She gives him a skeptical look and he stares back at her. “People passing by need to know there’s a party.”

“You didn’t invite anyone?”

“I did, but the more the merrier, right?” He lets out the same nervous chuckle again and Yasha feels bad for him.

Molly raises one eyebrow. “She’s not entirely wrong. I mean, it’s barely seven. You’re probably pissing your neighbors off more than attracting people.”

“I don’t know,” he says, and he suddenly seems even more edgy. “The others said we had to let everybody know the Chosen of Uk'otoa are having a party.”

Molly hits his palm with his fist and turns to Yasha. “That’s the one! That’s the name I was looking for earlier.”

Yasha frowns and looks at the boy. “This is the name of your club?”

“My _future_ club, hopefully. You never heard of it?”

Both Yasha and Molly shake their head.

“That’s strange. It’s one of the most popular clubs on campus.”

“I’m not much of a club guy,” Molly says.

“Uk'otoa was the snake familiar of the man who founded this club,” the boy explains enthusiastically.

He is seemingly ready to keep going, but Molly speaks before he gets the opportunity to delve into the details. “I really don’t care about your club. We’re only here to sell drugs and make sure everybody has a good time.”

“Oh, um… Sorry. I often get overly excited when I talk about it.”

“I can tell.” The tiefling takes a look around and plops down on a nearby armchair. “I know it’s still early, but I truly hope people will start coming soon. If I don’t sell enough and I came for nothing, this will be the last you see of me.”

“D-Don’t worry, people will come! You said it yourself, it’s only seven.” The nervous chuckle is back and Yasha has to grit her teeth to not lose her nerve.

“Can I have something to drink in the meantime?” Molly asks.

“Of-Of course. What would you like?”

“A fresh beer should be fine.”

The boy turns to Yasha and looks at her expectantly. “Same,” she mumbles.

He goes to the kitchen and the two roommates exchange another look, amused on Molly's side, but very tense on Yasha’s. “He makes me uncomfortable,” she says.

“He’s definitely trying too hard. But he’s trying, it’s cute.” He taps his hand on the couch next to him. “Come sit.”

Yasha hesitates but eventually sits down. Shortly after, the boy comes back, his tortoise familiar slowly trailing him. He has two open bottles and gives one to each of them. Molly takes a small sip while Yasha chugs half of the bottle down. The boy stares at her with wide eyes. “Wow.”

She rubs her mouth with the back of her hand. “What?”

“You _can_ drink.”

Molly bursts out laughing. “I’m sure there’s a party monster sleeping somewhere inside of you but that’s never had the opportunity to express itself.”

“I’m not getting drunk tonight,” Yasha says firmly.

Molly raises his hands to show he means no harm. “Your choice.” He turns back to the boy. “What did you say was your name?”

Yasha feels relieved and grateful that Molly saved her from the embarrassment of asking again later.

“James.”

“James, right. Why are you here all alone? I guess this house belongs to the club you’ve been gushing about, whatever its name is.”

“The Chosen of Uk'otoa.”

“Yeah, whatever. Where are the others you talked about?”

“They’re upstairs.”

“Why are they not here with you? Or you with them?”

“I’m not part of the club yet.”

“So you’re not included?”

“Well… No.” He looks confused by Molly’s questions.

“Why would you want to join a group of people who don’t make you feel like you’re part of them?”

“I’m not a member yet.”

“And what do you have to do to become a member?”

“I must prove myself.”

Molly squints. “What does _proving_ yourself include?”

“Different things. This party is one of them. I have to organize it by myself and make sure as many people as possible are here.”

“You-You pulled all of this by yourself?” Molly asks with a wave of his hand around the room.

“Yes.”

“No one from this club helped you?”

“No, it’s part of the challenge.”

Yasha opens wide eyes. “This is crazy.”

“And fucking stupid,” Molly exclaims. “Why didn’t they help you?”

“It’s part of the challenge,” James repeats, his face clearly showing his confusion. “That’s why I asked you to come, I want to impress them.”

“You gotta be kidding me,” Molly whispers under his breath with a shake of his head, loud enough for Alexis to hear and convey it to Yasha. “Are you sure you want to join this club? Those people seem to be assholes.”

“It’s been my dreams for years! I’m attending this university specifically to be part of the Chosen.”

Molly raises one eyebrow at him. He opens his mouth to say something, but there’s a knock on the door that they miraculously hear over the loud music.

James gives them a small smile. “Sorry, I have to go open the door.”

“Go, don’t worry about us. You have guests to welcome. And assholes to impress, apparently.”

Whether James doesn’t hear his last comment or choose to ignore it, he doesn’t react. “Don’t hesitate if you need anything, okay? I’ll let people know you’re the person to talk to if they want to… have a good time.”

Molly crosses his arms and leans back in the armchair with a grin. “I’m sure I’ll be easy to spot.”

“Yeah, definitely,” James says with an exaggerated laughter that makes Yasha grit her teeth again.

He leaves the living room to go open the front door. As soon as he’s gone, Yasha and Molly look at each other. The latter sighs deeply, “Kids…”

Yasha can’t help grinning, amused by Molly’s excessive demonstration of annoyance.

“I don’t know if I will sell a lot, but this night promises to be interesting.”

Esma jumps on Molly’s lap as the first guests filter into the living room, and Alexis sits next to Yasha in a straight and stiff position.

* * *

Despite Molly's doubts, a lot of people come to him during the night and soon, a satisfied smile grows on his face. He puts the bills he was just handed in his bag and turns to his roommate. "Yasha, I think tonight will be a good night."

"You don't even need me."

"Are you kidding? Did you see this stupid jock who tried to get me to lower the price? One cough from you was enough to make him understand you were with me and he immediately cut the crap."

Yasha shrugs and doesn't say anything.

"Are you having fun?" Molly asks.

Yasha shrugs again. "I guess."

"Wow, please, contain your excitement."

"I don't know. There's free beer, people haven't bothered us so far, so I guess it's fine. It's not my favored terrain, but I can handle it for one night."

"And what is your favored terrain, if I may?" Molly asks with an amused grin.

Yasha looks around. People are chatting, dancing, drinking, smoking. She doesn't really know if this is what having a good time is supposed to look like. Maybe. She looks back at Molly. "Not this."

The tiefling scoffs and takes a look around in turn. "Don't you like seeing all those poor first-years, excited for the future, but also lost and confused, and pretending they're not so that they look cool in the eyes of people who will probably never be worthy of being called friends?"

"I'm one of them, in some way."

Molly briskly turns to her. "No, you're not." He takes a desperate tone that she knows is purposely exaggerated. "Please, Yasha, tell me I'm worthy of being called your friend."

She can't help but chuckle at his silliness and he immediately drops his fakely affected face. Yasha gets a little more serious. "You know, I'm not even sure what a friend is supposed to be."

"Uh?"

"I don't think I've ever had a real friend before."

Molly opens his mouth to reply, but then he shuts it. He looks up to the ceiling and puts a hand on his chin with a pensive expression. He seems to be thinking for a moment, then he looks back at Yasha. "Now that you say that... If I ever had one, it was before my accident and I can't remember it."

Yasha slightly smiles at his endearing realization.

Molly leans closer to her. "Well, in that case... Yasha, will you be my friend?"

Yasha puts her index finger on her chin and looks up, her expression pretty similar to the one Molly just pulled. She has probably never done that before. Playing silly is not her thing usually, and she can sense Alexis' surprise. But for some reason, Molly makes her feel at ease.

She looks at the expecting tiefling with a mischievous smile. "Only if you're mine."

"Deal."

Molly extends his hand and Yasha shakes it, making sure she squeezes just hard enough to make her brand-new friend wince a little. He chuckles and playfully hits her in the shoulder.

They hear a cough and turn in unison. Molly gives one of the excessively polite and jovial smiles Yasha has seen him offer to every single customer, but she doesn't see this one as she is frozen in place.

Here, standing right in front of her, is a dark-skinned girl. To anyone else, she might look like any other girl. But to Yasha, she's not.

She has seen this girl only once before, but her sight had felt like a divine apparition to Yasha. One that has been seared in her mind since the day she had a brief glimpse at her. To Yasha, it had been a sign sent by the gods themselves to tell her to go to this university and not any other one.

She suddenly realizes she has been staring while Molly and the girl have started talking and she hasn't processed one single word of what they've said.

The lion Yasha saw with the girl that day looks just as massive as she remembers, if not bigger now that she is sitting and they are standing. Their light-colored mane is magnificent and she suspects that it's not fully grown yet. She gets lost in her thoughts, trying to imagine how much work it must be for their companion or for themself to keep it well-groomed.

The lion suddenly turns their head to her and their yellow eyes stop on her. It's a bit unsettling at first. But weirdly, being stared at by such a regal and powerful animal is not scary, rather… comforting. Maybe this is because she is accustomed to being around her own familiar, who often inspires fear among people.

Alexis, however, doesn't seem to share Yasha's opinion. The wolf starts growling, which only draws the lion’s attention to him and makes him even more nervous.

Yasha looks at her familiar and tries to communicate soothing vibes to him. **It’s okay, Al. Look, They’re not aggressive or anything.**

**Why are they staring at us like this?**

**Maybe they’re just curious. Maybe they’ve never seen a wolf or someone like me before. Please, calm down.**

**I _am_ calm.**

**You don’t look like you are, and the only thing they can see right now is a wolf starting to bare his fangs and growling. So please, relax and don’t start a fight.**

**I won’t if they stop staring.**

**Al, they are _just_ staring, they’re not doing anything else. Let it go.**

Yasha can feel her familiar is not anywhere near relaxing, but suddenly, the lion looks away and swiftly turns their head to their companion. Yasha realizes Molly and the girl have stopped talking and are now focused on the two familiars facing each other.

There’s an awkward silence during what must be a telepathic exchange between the girl and the lion. She gives a head motion and her familiar slowly goes around her and stands on her other side, the girl now forming a physical barrier between the two animals. As soon as the lion steps away, Yasha sees Alexis relax. He goes back to his sitting position next to her. He is still wary, but he’s no longer showing any physical sign of aggressivity.

The girl looks at Yasha. “Sorry about that. He’s just curious, but he doesn’t realize he makes people uncomfortable when he stares.”

“It-It’s all right.”

**No, it’s not.**

Yasha ignores Alexis’ comment and doesn’t hide her annoyance at his attitude.

He glances at her and his ears suddenly go flat on his head. He comes closer to her, puts his front legs on her lap to get to her level, and licks her face as he lets out little high-pitched cries. He very rarely does this and Yasha knows he is stressed and trying to release the tension that’s been building between them. Maybe the short conversation they had earlier made him more aware of her emotions and something clicked inside of him. A girl can hope. But whatever the reason, seeing the sudden change in his behavior, she opens her mouth and lets him lick the inside of it.

Molly immediately makes a disgusted sound. “Gross.”

Yasha feels other looks weighing on her, people probably bewildered by this strange and unusual interaction. Being watched and examined like this makes her uncomfortable, but to make Alexis feel better, she lets him continue.

She can’t really answer Molly’s comment, as her familiar is still licking her lips, but the girl immediately steps in. “They’re only showing affection.” Yasha gives her a very surprised look, and the girl suddenly seems a bit hesitant. “They are, right?”

Yasha gently pushes her familiar away. He licks her face a few more times and then gets down from her lap and sits down. His ears are pointing up again and Yasha can feel his stress has decreased a bit, even if he is not completely relaxed.

She looks at the girl, still surprised by the knowledge she just demonstrated. “Yes, he is. How-How do you know that?”

The girl shrugs. “With this big boy over here,” she points at the lion next to her, “I have to know as much as possible on the behavior of pretty much every species if I don’t want things to go south. I guess it’s the same for you.”

“Um… Yeah.” Yasha looks over at the lion. “Your familiar is beautiful.”

“This is Leo, he/him.” A scoff from Molly makes her look at him and her tone immediately becomes sharp. “What?”

“Seriously? Your familiar is a lion and his name is Leo? Is that a joke?”

The girl glares at him. “Are you patronizing me, Mollymauk?”

Yasha assumes they must have exchanged names when she was not listening.

“No, I'm hoping that you're going to patronize me.”

“You’re hilarious.” Her voice clearly shows she doesn’t think he is. “You will find it even funnier when you know my last name is Lionett. But I recommend not laughing too much about it, because Leo the lion will get pissed and might eat you whole, and your familiar with you.”

Esma lets out a clucking that can only be described as a condescending chuckle. Molly doesn’t seem to take offense at the girl’s retaliation. He glances at the peacock and then looks back at the girl. “So… Beauregard, right?”

“Beau is fine.”

“Beau. It’s really nice to chat with you, but I guess you didn’t come see me just for the conversation.” He leans back in the armchair he hasn’t left since the party started. “What do you need?”

They go into a brief talk that Yasha doesn’t really follow. Molly pulls a small plastic bag from his fanny pack and Beau takes money out of her pocket. The exchange is quick and in a matter of seconds, the deal is done.

Beau is about to leave, but she stops and looks at Yasha. “Your familiar is beautiful too, by the way.”

“Oh. Um… Thanks.” Beau looks at her expectantly and she adds, “His name is Alexis, he/him.”

Beau nods, but she seems to be waiting for something else. A few seconds pass and she asks, “And what is yours?”

“Mine?” Beau chuckles and Yasha suddenly realizes what she is asking. “Oh, yeah. I’m Yasha, she/her.”

“Yasha.” The name rolls on Beau’s tongue like a long purr and she grins. “It was nice meeting you and your familiar, Yasha.” She turns to Molly and her face gets stern. “See you around, Mollymauk.”

She gives one last grin to Yasha and then takes her leave, her familiar right behind her, zigzagging between people and bumping into some of them when he can’t quite fit.

As soon as the duo is gone, Molly turns to Yasha. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“This,” he says with a wave of his hand to refer to her whole frame. “You were all flustered, speaking to this girl. I know you’re not great with people, you’ve told me that and it’s quite hard to miss. But this!”

Yasha blushes. “I wasn’t flustered.”

“Yes, you were.”

“No. Maybe just a bit… surprised. Usually people don’t know anything about wolves.”

“We have classes on animal behavior and ethology though. Not that I remember anything from it, but I figured it was just me and other people were more knowledgeable.”

“People often focus mainly on their own familiar’s group, or even just species. The only people I met who knew about wolves were those with mammal predators as their familiars, and even those didn’t know a lot.” She pauses and says under her breath, “I didn’t think I would ever see her again.”

“Beau? You two have met before?” He can’t hide his curiosity.

“We didn’t actually meet, I just saw her from afar.”

“Well? I need more details now!” he says excitedly.

“There’s not much to say, really. I saw her on campus when I was visiting the university last year. I guess she was too. I noticed her because I had almost never seen anyone with a familiar as big as Alexis. But I didn’t even know if she would attend this university or not.”

“And yet she does. This can’t be a coincidence.”

Yasha scoffs. “You believe in fate?”

“I guess I do, in some way.” He pulls a deck of cards out of the pocket of his jacket.

“What is this?”

“Tarot cards. I read fortunes.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, dear. But now that we’re friends, you’re gonna have the opportunity to uncover my darkest secrets.” He gives her a wink and Yasha grins.

He turns in his armchair to face her completely and leans closer to her, speaking in a whisper, as if sharing the most precious secret in the world. “Now... Would you like a fortune read?”

* * *

The night goes on. Customers come and go and Molly is definitely satisfied with how much money he’s making, if the myriad of grins and wiggles of his eyebrows he gives Yasha is any indication.

Nervousness doesn’t leave Alexis all night long. At some point, a girl who probably thinks wolves are just very big dogs tries to pet him without even asking, but a growl is all it takes to deter her. For the rest, no one, familiar or companion, comes close to him and he stays relatively calm, sitting next to Yasha.

Molly is casually chatting with a girl who just bought from him when Alexis sends a mental nudge to Yasha and then shares his sight with her. Suddenly, she’s no longer looking at Molly. The transition between her own sight and Alexis’ is a bit disconcerting at first, because of the change of height and angle, but mostly because he can see in the dimly lit house way better than she. Yasha always needs a moment to adapt in these situations.

When her initial bewilderment is gone, she focuses. Alexis is looking at people dancing in what seems to be a dining room directly communicating with the living room. The weird angle doesn’t help, but after a few seconds, Yasha notices what her familiar is probably trying to show her. A lion, probably Leo, is laying on the floor, right in front of an open door seemingly leading to the kitchen. He doesn’t seem to care in the slightest that everybody has to step over him. People don’t dare say anything and just carefully avoid stepping on his paws or tail.

Yasha is about to snap out of Alexis’ sight, but the vision shifts and she sees Beauregard, the girl she talked to earlier. She changes her mind and looks through her familiar’s eyes a little longer.

Beauregard seems to be dancing with three other people. A pink-haired firbolg who is way too tall and clumsy to be a good dancer is very slowly swaying his hips. Yasha is not one to judge, though. She can’t even tell how good of a dancer she is herself, as she’s never really tried. She’s way too awkward for this, and surely it would be a disaster with her physique. Next to the firbolg, a half-orc wearing a snapback is demonstrating some quite decent moves. A chameleon is clinging to his shoulder, which is probably the reason why he’s not moving too briskly. The last member of this colorful quartet, however, is dancing like her life depends on it. The little blue tiefling is wiggling and jumping like crazy. She is perfectly following the rhythm and Yasha can tell she is a really good dancer. The contrast between her cute little dress and the beat of trap music is quite uncanny.

A lot of people are currently dancing, which makes it hard for Yasha to figure out which familiar is linked to who. She knows Beauregard and Leo are connected, and the half-orc and the chameleon much likely form a pair, but she can’t tell what the tiefling and firbolg’s familiars are, if they have one.

Still watching through Alexis’ eyes, Yasha sees the tiefling come close to Beauregard. She says something in her ear and then they grin at each other and the tiefling darts out of the room. Shortly after, the music stops. People look around in confusion and start protesting. Yasha sees James apologize awkwardly as he passes by the living room and goes after the tiefling.

All of a sudden, a song plays and the atmosphere of the party changes dramatically. Yasha quickly recognizes _Everytime We Touch_ by Cascada. James is nowhere to be seen, but the tiefling comes back in the living room. She’s so excited that she crashes into Beauregard. The human girl turns around and seems very happy about her friend's choice. The firbolg and the half-orc don’t seem as enthusiastic as them, but the two girls don’t seem to notice and start dancing together.

They pay absolutely no mind to the people around them throwing them strange looks and dance like nobody's watching. They look a bit ridiculous, but most of all, they seem to be having the time of their life, and Yasha has to admit it’s endearing.

“What are you smiling about?”

Yasha gets startled and snaps out of Alexis’ sight. She realizes she was probably absentmindedly looking in the distance like she often does in these moments. She turns to Molly and blinks. “What?”

Molly glances at Alexis. “You were watching through him?”

“Y-Yeah,” Yasha admits, not sure if she should be honest or not.

“I don’t know what you were looking at, but I had never seen such bliss on your face. It was kinda creepy.”

Yasha can’t help blushing. “Sorry. I hadn’t realized.”

“Oh, no! Don’t apologize. This smile looked really good on you, you were beautiful. Not that you’re not always beautiful.”

Her blush intensifies and she stutters. “Th-Thank you.”

All these compliments from Molly are very confusing for her. No one has ever been so flattering to her and it makes her wonder what Molly’s intentions truly are. She is not sure if she should make things clear right away or wait so that she doesn’t make a fool of herself for falsely assuming. After a short reflection, she goes for the former. She doesn’t know where she finds the courage to do it, because even if she’s never been drunk before and doesn’t know how it feels like, she can tell she is not right now.

“Um… Molly…”

“Yes, dear?”

“I…” She is really hesitant and Molly tilts his head to the side. “I’m not into boys. Men.”

Molly raises one eyebrow. He looks a bit perplexed, but then he seems to realize what she’s trying to say. “Oh, gods! You think I’m hitting on you?” He’s probably not waiting for an answer, and he doesn’t give her the opportunity to give him one as he chuckles and says, “No, I know you’re not into guys.”

“You do?”

He shrugs. “I had a feeling you weren’t. I’m not really surprised. But don’t worry, I’m not hitting on you.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry, that was stupid.”

“Yasha,” he sighs, “stop apologizing. It’s fine, there’s nothing to be sorry about. Did you think I was saying you’re beautiful because I was expecting something in return?”

Yasha nods silently.

“I could have. But nah. I said this because it’s true, that’s all,” he concludes with a shrug.

Yasha blinks a few times rapidly. She is even more confused now. No one has ever been complimentary to her just for the sake of being nice.

Molly must notice her puzzled expression as he grins. “You’re not really used to receiving compliments, are you?”

Yasha shakes her head and Molly’s smile gets a little wider. “Well, get used to it. I’m not planning on stopping any time soon.”

He looks at her a little longer and then he turns away and his gaze gets lost in the crowd. He keeps his smiles on and slowly moves his head to the rhythm of the music that is still giving very strong 2000’s vibes.

Yasha wonders if she is the only one who’s unsettled by Molly or if he has this effect on everybody. But whatever the answer, it feels really strange to have someone like him in her life now. Strange in a good way, though.

Her attention goes back to the living room, but this time, she watches with her own eyes. The first thing she notices is Leo staring right at her from the same spot where he is still laying in front of a door. It makes her a bit uncomfortable. The second thing she notices is Beauregard, staring at her as well. It makes her very uncomfortable. Yasha looks back at her and Beauregard doesn’t look away.

Yasha doesn’t know a lot of French, just the overused ‘ _voulez-vous coucher avec moi ?_ ’ and a few other words. But one thing she knows is Beauregard’s name suits her very well. Her blue eyes are hypnotic.

Beauregard doesn’t break eye contact as she puts what Yasha suspects must be a joint between her lips. She takes a long puff and then pinches the joint between her thumb and index finger and pulls it out. She keeps her mouth closed for a moment before slowly exhaling smoke. She is looking at Yasha the whole time and her expression stays impassive and unfathomable.

Being watched by these two aquamarine eyes makes Yasha feel special. But discomfort quickly outweighs fascination and she looks away. She awkwardly repositions herself in the armchair and finishes what must be her fourth beer of the night, or maybe fifth.

* * *

Yasha glances at her watch. It’s getting close to midnight. As if on cue, Molly suddenly stands up. He stretches his back and arms. He looks like a cat when he does this.

“I think that’s enough for tonight. People have stopped buying, and I’ve made some good money.” He turns to Yasha. “I guess you won’t complain if we leave now?”

“I mean, unless you want to stay longer.”

“Nah, I’m fine. Shall we grab a drink before we go?”

Yasha nods and stands up.

They make their way through the crowd with their familiars right behind them. Once again, Yasha is impressed by Esma’s ease when they maneuver their long blue and green feathers between people’s legs. Alexis is moving with ease too, elusive like a shadow, expertly avoiding swaying bodies when they shift unexpectedly, never bumping into anyone.

There are a few people in the kitchen when they step in, but it’s not anywhere near as filled as the living room. Yasha feels a bit more at ease here, even if she knows she won’t be completely relaxed until they leave the house entirely. Molly prepares a fancy cocktail for himself and Yasha sticks to beer.

“What is this?” she asks when the tiefling is done.

“A bloody mary.” He extends his arm to hand her his glass. “Wanna try?”

She eyes the cocktail. She saw Molly put tomato juice and vodka in it, among other things. “I’ve never had vodka before.”

“There’s a first for everything.”

Surprisingly enough, that’s enough to convince her. Molly definitely has a strange effect on her. Or maybe that’s the few beers she’s drunk. She shrugs, grabs the glass handed to her and takes a sip. The kick of the vodka is nice and she tastes spices as well.

“So?” Molly asks with a grin.

“I prefer beer, but it’s fine.” She gives him back his glass.

Molly looks a bit taken aback. “Usually people think I put way too much vodka in it.”

“Really? I barely tasted it.”

Molly stares at her and then bursts out laughing. “I don’t know if it’s one of your jokes again or if you’re serious, but either way, I love it.”

Yasha smiles sheepishly. She very rarely eludes laughter from people, but Molly often laughs when he’s with her, and it makes her feel good in a way she had never experienced before.

They both take a sip of their respective beverage and Molly lets out a little satisfied sigh. He takes a look around and his eyes stop on a group of people on the other side of the kitchen. “Look who’s here,” he says under his breath and with a grin.

Yasha follows his gaze. Beauregard and her friends are chatting with two other individuals. One appears to be human and has long red hair. A Bengal cat is standing by his side. The other is a halfling that looks particularly shifty, while the fennec fox next to her seems relaxed.

Now that they’re isolated from the other guests, Yasha can guess more easily what the pairings of companion and familiar are. The chameleon is still on the half-orc’s shoulder and one of its eyes seems to be looking at her, although it’s hard to tell for sure. There’s a magpie on the shoulder of the blue tiefling. The familiar has a mischievous look to themself. The only one who seems to be without a familiar is the firbolg. Yasha supposes he doesn’t have one.

They form quite a strange group and the tension between all of them is very noticeable, even from a distance.

“It’s gonna be interesting,” Molly says.

With that, the tielfing’s thin elongated silhouette shifts as he walks over to them. Yasha follows him silently. He leans against the counter where the group is situated, right next to Beauregard, and gives them all a big smile.

“Hello, there.”

“Molly,” Beauregard says with an annoyance she doesn’t even try to hide. “You again.”

“Missed me?”

“Barely.”

“That’s a lovely group of friends you have here.”

“Some of them are not friends,” she says as she glances at the human and the halfling.

“I’m sure they will be soon, yeah?”

“Yeah, sure.” The tone of her voice clearly indicates she doesn’t believe what she’s saying.

Yasha watches the exchange with a very intrigued expression. Most of the time, she can’t read the room, and yet even she can sense the tension between Molly and Beauregard. Judging by the looks on others’ faces, not all of them can feel it though.

“Do any of your acquaintances need some of my stuff?” Molly asks.

“We’re good here.” Her tone is definitive.

Just as Beauregard finishes talking, the blue tiefling steps in the conversation. “What stuff do you have?”

Molly grins, visibly satisfied that he caught the curiosity of one of them. Beauregard seems about to intervene, but he’s faster as he pulls a small plastic bag from his fanny pack. “The kind of stuff that helps you have a good time.”

The tiefling frowns. “Oh, this! I don’t do drugs,” she says with the most natural expression.

“Oh. It’s all right.” Molly puts the drug back in his fanny pack and zips it closed. He stares at her for a moment and tilts his head to the side in this elegant way that is typical to him, Yasha has noticed. “Maybe I can interest you in something else,” he says as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his tarot cards. “I can read fortunes.”

Yasha sees a very skeptical look form on Beauregard’s face as the blue tiefling gasps. “I was going to ask if you read fortunes! Can you do one now?”

“I knew you were going to ask that.”

Beauregard gets even more skeptical while the blue tiefling gets even more excited and gasps louder. “Oh my gosh, you're so smart.” She turns to the rest of the group. “Look at this guy, he knows everything!”

“I don’t think--”

But before Beauregard can go further, the tiefling turns back to Molly. “Do you know my name?” she asks with a deep and serious voice, very different from the high-pitched tone she had previously.

Everybody seems a bit curious now as they watch this strange conversation happen. Molly stares at her very intensely and puts a hand on his chin as he asks with a voice just as serious, “What is your name?”

“Jester.”

“I know your name now!”

And just like that, they both go into loud bursts of laughter that make a few heads turn in their direction. Apart from the firbolg who’s watching with an idiotic smile, everybody else in the group seems a bit bewildered and very clearly mistruting. The red-haired human slowly shakes his head with a very judgemental face. The halfling doesn’t seem to be paying any attention to the ongoing conversation. Beauregard frowns and then shares a look with the half-orc standing next to her. Yasha, however, can’t help grinning. This interaction just looks very genuine and endearing to her.

“What is your name?” the blue tiefling asks with a smile.

“My name is Molly to my friends, and we're friends, now, aren't we?”

Jester reaches out and in the most traditional and unexpected way, they shake hands.

The halfling suddenly gets out of her quietness and she eyes the lavender tiefling warily. “Molly?”

“Molly,” Jester repeats. “Look at this guy.”

Beauregard still looks doubtful and she puts her hand on her chin and quickly taps it with her fingers.

“Mollymauk,” says the lavender tiefling. “Molly for short.” He points at his roommate. “This is Yasha, she's a charm.”

“Hi, Yasha!” Jester says joyfully.

“Hello.”

Beauregard’s attention instantly shifts to her and she stares at her like she did earlier. Jester seems to notice and giggles. Now that Beauregard is looking directly at her, Yasha notices her pupils are quite dilated. Even if she didn’t know she had been smoking, it would look suspicious, as contrary to the living and dining rooms, the kitchen is very well-lit.

“Now,” Molly says with a mysterious voice. “Would you like a fortune read?”

“I would love one. How much do you want?”

“For you? It’s free.”

“Aww! Thanks, Molly.”

“Of course.”

As he shuffles the tarot cards with swift and experienced gestures, Yasha leans in closer to the group and says with a very serious, deadpan expression, “He's really quite good, you all should line up and get your fortunes told,” and she takes a sip of her beer.

Molly snorts loudly and finishes shuffling the cards before putting the deck down on the counter. He picks a card and looks at it. “Your first card, the Silver Dragon. This is good. You're pure, you're virtue, you are a worthwhile and wonderful tiefling, obviously.”

“That's what everyone always tells me.”

Beauregard and the half-orc exchange another skeptical look, but they don’t interfere.

“That's true. And heading towards the Anvil.”

“What does that even mean?” Beauregard grumbles under her breath. “That doesn’t mean anything, he’s making that shit up.”

The half-orc shrugs at Beauregard as Jester asks, “What is that?”

“That is a destiny forged.”

“Ohh,” Yasha exclaims to try and sell it, but her very impassive expression and her arms crossed over her chest certainly don’t help.

The halfling throws her a look. “You’re the worst hype-woman I’ve ever seen.”

Yasha shrinks a little at that. Molly doesn’t say anything, just shoots the halfling a glare that seems enough to send her back to her previous quietness. The tiefling then turns back to Jester. “There is something bright and adventurous in your future.”

“Wow! You know, we did just come upon a super big snake tonight and defeated him? Some girl’s familiar who tried to bite someone.”

“This snake wasn’t trying to bite anyone to be fair, he was just chilling,” the half-orc says. “And he wasn’t that big.”

Jester doesn’t seem to hear his comment, or she chooses to ignore it, and she keeps going. ”So maybe there's even bigger things coming up, you know?”

Molly pulls another card with a snake depicted on it. “The Serpent. Of course you did.”

Jester gasps even louder than before. “Oh my gods! Look at that! How did you even do that?”

“That's all the cards. I'm simply a vessel for higher powers.”

Yasha notices that while Jester has her eyes only looking at Molly’s face or at the cards he’s picking, a lot of the familiars are looking directly at the lavender tiefling’s hands. She quickly activates her own telepathic link.

**Alex? Can you see if he’s fiddling with the cards?**

**I think so, but I can’t tell for sure. The counter is too high for me to see.**

She looks at the magpie on Jester’s shoulder. The bird is looking at Molly’s hands very closely, but it’s hard to read its emotions due to the lack of facial expression. However, a very low mewling catches her attention. She looks at the Bengal cat, but before she even gets the chance to try to assess their behavior, the red-haired human shushes his familiar.

Jester is still very much intent on making the most of her fortune read. “Will you ask the cards if I'm going to find him?”

The red-haired human mutters something to the halfling, but Yasha can’t hear what he says. However, she knows her familiar’s very keen sense of hearing probably caught it.

**What did he say?**

**He said Mollymauk is bullshitting her.**

**I think his familiar told him.**

**Me too. We should be careful with this cat.**

**I think they’re cute.**

**All the more reasons to be careful.**

Yasha mentally rolls her eyes at Alexis.

"If you're going to find her?" Molly asks as a clarification.

"Him," Jester corrects.

“Give me a little bit more. Who's this 'him' that you're looking for?”

Yasha watches Molly’s hand resting on the deck as he’s speaking, but she doesn’t discern anything weird. Yet, she is almost sure he’s doing something, whatever that is.

“I'm looking for my dad,” Jester explains.

Molly pulls a third card and flips it on the counter. “The Eye card.”

Beauregard seems to get more and more skeptical, if possible. The half-orc, however, looks really intrigued and leans a little closer.

Molly looks right into Jester’s eyes. “You've already found the clue you're looking for. You just don't know what it is yet.”

Beauregard rolls her eyes harder than Yasha has ever seen anyone do before.

“Really?” Jester asks with a mesmerized expression.

“Apparently. Well, it's what the cards are saying. It's right in front of you.”

“Wow. Does it say how long ago I found it? Because that's--”

“Sadly, I don't have that sort of specifics. You’d have to pay for this.”

Jester has a very intense expression now. “That's going to take a lot of thinking.”

“Well.” Molly gathers his cards and puts them back into his pocket. He pulls out a small notebook and starts writing down. “Yasha and I are at the Fletching and Moondrop Residence, room 309.”

Yasha sees Beauregard lean towards the half-orc and she immediately peeks into Alexis’ hearing to listen. “What is it with the dorms’ names on this campus? They’re all so weird.”

“I know, right?”

Molly rips the sheet off and hands it to Jester. “Here is my number, just in case. You find me there any time and I'd be happy to give you a more complicated reading.”

“I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun.”

“So much fun.”

Yasha takes a big swig of her beer. When she looks back at the group, Beauregard is staring right at her. “Do you have any cool tricks of your own?”

Yasha is a bit taken aback by the question. “Er, no. I do not. I just-- I’m mainly here as Molly’s bodyguard tonight.”

“Oh, cool.”

The half-orc nods. “Yeah, bodyguard.” He looks at Molly. “Probably useful for that kind of business.”

Molly looks back and grins widely. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”

“Oh, um, right.” The half-orc clears his throat and speaks in a very deep voice that sounds a little forced. “I’m Fjord, he/him.” He points at the chameleon on his shoulder. “This is Billie, she/her.”

“Fjord and Billie, nice to meet you.” Molly turns to the other faces that remain unnamed, starting with the firbolg.

“Oh. Er, hi.” The firbolg seems surprised that anyone would pay attention to him. “Hi, I’m Caduceus. Caduceus Clay, he/him. And Eleonora must be somewhere.” He looks around.

Fjord instantly gets paler and looks in every direction. “Are you freaking serious right now? You don’t know where she is?!”

“It-It’s all right, I’ll find her.”

“No, it’s not!”

“Oh!” Jester points at the table where the drinks are. “Here she is!”

They all turn as one in the direction she’s pointing. Yasha and Molly’s eyes widen when they see a massive tarantula wandering between the bottles and glasses. The firbolg goes to the table and gently offers his hand for the spider to climb on it. As soon as his familiar is on him, he comes back to the group.

Fjord eyes him warily as he stands next to the counter. “This is Eleonora, she/her.”

Molly seems genuinely amazed by the animal. “She’s beautiful.”

“Oh, th-thanks. Usually, people are terrified of her.”

“She _is_ terrifying,” Fjord mumbles.

Molly ignores his comment and comes closer to the spider. He inspects her as she’s slowly climbing up Caduceus’ arm. “I know tarantulas are big, but I’ve never seen such a big one before.” He looks up at Caduceus. “What species is it?”

“This is a Goliath birdeater.”

Molly laughs. “The name is amazing.” He turns to Yasha and points at the spider as he asks, “Do you eat those?”

There’s a silence and everybody throws strange looks at Yasha. She smiles awkwardly. “Um…”

“You eat spiders?!” Jester exclaims with a disgusted expression.

“I… Um, I don’t.”

Molly grins at Yasha and then turns to Jester. “That’s what she says, but I still haven’t figured out what the truth is.”

Yasha’s gaze meets Beauregard’s. She has her arms crossed, but she doesn’t seem judgemental, just curious and intrigued.

Molly pulls his cellphone out of his pocket and unlocks it. Yasha glances over his shoulder, but she quickly looks away when she sees he is opening a text message. She is not one to intrude in others’ private life, not even her roommate’s.

Molly locks his cellphone after a short moment and puts it back in his pocket. “You are all the most charming people I've met in-- yes.” He finishes his cocktail and abandons the glass on the counter. “Well, we'd better be getting on.”

Yasha chugs down her beer with one big swig and slams it on the counter, a little more abruptly than she meant to. “Yep, nice to meet you all.” She looks for something else to add. “You're so, uh, wonderful.”

Beauregard seems about to say something, but she refrains. The halfling sneers and the red-haired human glances at Yasha.

Molly grins. “Charm. Pure charm. See you later!”

“Bye, Molly! Bye, Yasha!” Jester says with a big smile.

The others only nod and wave.

Molly turns around and goes to exit the kitchen. Yasha is right behind him. She sees Beauregard leaning closer to Fjord as they leave and she quickly connects with Alexis, who is walking next to her but can still hear very well, even from a distance.

“She was awesome,” Beauregard says in a low voice.

“She didn't say much,” Fjord answers.

“That's why I liked her.”

Yasha is not facing Beauregard, and still she can’t help feeling awkward. She feels her cheeks flare and she hopes the obscurity of the other rooms they’re about to cross will be enough to hide it.

The next voice she hears is Jester’s. “She was really, really cool.”

That’s all Alexis can hear. As they step out of the kitchen and into the dining room, the music gets loud again and even his keen hearing can’t make out the rest of the conversation.

The strange duo makes its way through the crowd of people. As soon as they’re outside, Yasha lets out a deep sigh.

Molly turns to her with a smile. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah.”

“I hope the night wasn’t too terrible for you.”

“It was all right.” She shrugs. “I mean, you made it more fun than it would have been otherwise.”

“It makes me really happy to hear that!” he says as he wraps an arm around her shoulders and gives her a side hug.

It probably looks a bit strange as Yasha is taller than him. The demonstration of affection takes her off guard and she doesn’t return it, but it’s surprisingly pleasant. She sheepishly smiles at Molly and he smiles back.

“We didn’t get the names of the two shifty ones in the end,” she suddenly realizes.

“I’m sure there will be plenty of other opportunities. Now!” Molly claps his hands. “I received a text from another client, so I’ll go meet her. I totally get it if you want to go back to our room, but you can come with me if you want to.”

Yasha briefly thinks. “I’ll come with you. Alexis will be happy to take a walk,” she says as she looks at her familiar, who sends her a mental approbation.

“Great! Let’s go then.”

Molly goes down the flight of stairs and starts walking as he pulls out his cellphone, types a short message, and then puts it back in his pocket. Yasha buries her hands in the pockets of her jeans and walks next to him. She glances at Alexis when he smells the air and then wanders off. She lets him go, knowing he will stay relatively close. In the meantime, Esma is right next to Molly.

"You two have a strange relationship."

Yasha looks at Molly and shrugs. He chuckles but doesn't say anything else.

They walk in silence for a moment, until Yasha speaks hesitantly. “When you were reading Jester’s fortune… Did you rig the cards?”

Molly turns to her with a devilish grin. “Do you think I did?”

Yasha stares at him and tries to read his expression, but she can’t see anything past the manifest playfulness. She stares a little longer and then hears him chuckles as she looks away.

* * *

Molly slops on his bed as soon as he comes inside the room and Yasha quietly closes the door. She goes sit on her own bed and starts unlacing her combat boots.

“Ahh! Tonight was fun.”

Molly kicks his shoes off and takes off his jacket and fanny pack. He opens it and pulls out the bills with a grin and shiny eyes. Yasha doesn’t pay much attention as he starts counting.

“I think we make a good duo, right?” he asks.

“I don’t know if one night is enough to assess that, but yeah.” She stands up and opens her closet to put her boots at the bottom of it.

“Oh, stop it! You were great! Although this halfling girl was right, you’re a terrible hyp-woman.”

Yasha shoots a look at Molly, but she sees him smiling playfully and she doesn’t take offense.

“I like it, though,” Molly says. “It’s fun and very endearing.”

Yasha sits back on her bed. “I’ve been told before I was terrible at that kind of stuff, but no one ever found that endearing.”

“You hadn’t met the right people before.”

Yasha sheepishly smiles. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Hey, I was wondering. Was it a one-night thing for you, or would you be okay to do it again?”

Yasha shrugs. “I guess I wouldn’t mind.”

“Don’t feel like you have to. I just really think we make a good team.”

“Yeah, sure. Why not.”

Molly must have picked on her general terseness by now, because he doesn’t comment on it and only smiles. “Great!”

As he finishes counting the bills, he separates the wad in two, stands up and walks to Yasha. He hands her the smaller part, "Here."

"Why are you giving me money?"

"That's your cut. Ten percent."

Yasha chuckles in disbelief. "I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did. You were there and you did your part of the job."

"No, I can't accept."

"Sure you can." He tries to put the bills in her hand, but she doesn't take them.

"No, Molly. No."

"Really?"

"It-It makes me uncomfortable. Keep your money. Please."

Molly looks very unsettled. Yasha feels a bit of pride as she is the one eluding this emotion from him instead of the other way around. After a moment, he shrugs and seemingly shakes it off. "Okay. I'll buy next time we go out for a drink then."

"Next time? We've never done that."

"True," he replies as he goes back to his bed. "It's time to start then."

He opens the drawer of his night table, puts the money somewhere Yasha can't see, and closes it. Then, with no warning, he takes his t-shirt off.

"Molly!"

He glances at Yasha who is looking away and hiding her face with both of her hands, and he rolls his eyes. "Oh, sorry. I didn't think you were such a prude."

"We both agreed to make an effort."

Molly rolls his eyes even harder. "All right, sister Yasha. I'll go to the bathroom then."

"Thanks." Yasha uncovers her face, revealing a slight blush that makes Molly grin.

He grabs his bathrobe and then lazily walks to the bathroom with Esma following him. As he is about to close the door, Yasha calls out.

"Hey, Molly."

He peeks outside. "Yeah?"

Yasha smiles. "Tonight was fun."

Molly smiles widely in return. "Yes, it was, big girl. I know we've met just a few days ago, but I'm not gonna lie, I'm glad we found each other."

"Yeah, me too."

Molly gives her a wink and then closes the door.

Yasha stays still for a moment. She feels a mental nudge and looks at her familiar. Alexis is staring at her from his spot at the foot of her bed. She can feel he is relaxed and… happy? That's unusual, but it only makes it more enjoyable.

Yasha smiles at the wolf. "You know, Al… Maybe things will be different now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the scene where Alexis licks Yasha's face and even the inside of her mouth: I did not make that up. If some of you are familiar with wolves' behavior, you know it's true. It might seem gross to us, but wolves do lick the inside of each other's mouths, both to show affection and submission, and to get information on other wolves such as their health condition. It is believed that when trying to interact with wolves or to get them to trust us, we as humans should let them do the same with us.
> 
> Also, the writing might seem a bit "stiff" sometimes. I think it's partially because I'm not a native speaker, but also because knowledge on animal behavior is much more common in this universe than in ours, hence the use of some specific terms that lead to... strange conversations. Almost everybody has a familiar, so it would make sense that people know about those things and there are classes about it. I might develop this a bit if I write a companion "fic" with explanations about familiars and stuff.
> 
> As always, comments are very welcomed! It’s very important and motivating for authors to get feedback :)

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr at louloutche, I post about gay stuff and things no one cares about.


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